Using the DHT11 Temperature Sensor with the Raspberry Pi

In this tutorial, we’re going to cover using the the DHT11 (or DHT22) temperature and humidity sensor with the Raspberry Pi. Using the DHT11 temperature sensor with the Raspberry Pi is a great way to get temperature and humidity readings in your projects. Especially to keep tabs on how hot your Raspberry Pi is, if its in a non-ventilated box in the summer heat.

The DHT11 vs DHT22 Sensors

The DHT11 and DHT22 are fundamentally the same from a wiring and software perspective. However, the DHT22 is a more accurate sensor. In this project we’ll be using the DHT11. If you have a DHT22, just follow along and everything will work the same and you’ll get more accurate readings! You will need to change the code snippet to reflect your sensor though.

These sensor are ideal for remote mounting due to the fact that they can operate up to 65 feet (20 meters) apart using a long wire. I should also note that these sensors come as separate components or as modules. We’re going to use a module. The difference is that the module includes the 10K Ohm pull up resistor on the board. If you decide to use the standalone sensor, we have a wiring diagram for that below as well.

Parts List for this Project

Here’s a quick parts list for this project to get you started:

The DHT11/22 Raspberry Pi Tutorial Video

Wiring the DHT11 or DHT22 to the Raspberry Pi

Before we can begin using the DHT11 Temperature Sensor with the Raspberry Pi, we have to wire it to the Pi.

Using a Breadboard and Breakout Cable

You don’t need a breadboard for this project, but I feel like it makes things much simpler to understand, especially if you use of these breakout cables. It makes the Pi’s pinout much easier to follow. There’s a link to these in the description.

DHT11 / DHT22 Wiring Diagrams for the Raspberry Pi (Module)

Use the following wiring diagram if you have a DHT11 or DHT22 module with an integtated pull up resistor.

DHT11/22 Sensor Vcc+ to Raspberry Pi 5V
DHT11/22 Sensor GND to Raspberry Pi GND
DHT11/22 Sensor Signal to Raspberry Pi PIN 7 (GPIO PIN 4)

DHT11 / DHT22 Wiring Diagrams for the Raspberry Pi (Sensor Only)

Use the following wiring diagram if you have a DHT11 or DHT22 sensor with and need to add a separate pull up resistor.

DHT11/22 Sensor Vcc+ to Raspberry Pi 5V
DHT11/22 Sensor GND to Raspberry Pi GND
DHT11/22 Sensor Signal to Raspberry Pi PIN 7 (GPIO PIN 4)
10K Ohm Resistor between DHT11/22 PIN 1 and PIN 2

If you wired everything up correctly, you’ll see a red LED glowing on the DHT11 module. (NOTE: Some cost reduced modules do not include this LED.)

RELATED: DHT11 Sensor Wiki Page

Python Code for Raspberry Pi DHT11/DHT22

Next thing we need to do is install the DHT python library. This is done by entering the following command:

sudo pip3 install Adafruit_DHT

Note: If you run into problems with the above command, you may not have PIP installed on your Pi. You can fix that by running the following commands. These will install PIP and other utilities you may need.

sudo apt-get install python3-dev python3-pip
sudo python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel

OK. Now let’s take a look at the code we’re going to use. This is some very basic code written in Python. The first section of code imports the DHT library from Adafruit and the system time library.

import Adafruit_DHT
import time

This line defines the sensor object we will use, and the next line is a variable that defines the GPIO pin we are using.

DHT_SENSOR = Adafruit_DHT.DHT11
DHT_PIN = 4

And finally the code loop that goes next. The “while True:” line will force everything indented after to run in an infinite loop.

First, we capture the temperature and humidity to two aptly named variables, and then use an IF statement to check to see if it worked. If it worked, we print the temperature and humidity to the screen. If it it failed we let you know to check your wiring.

Lastly, since the DHT11 and DHT22 can only be checked a maximum of once per second, we use the system time.sleep function two pause three seconds between checks.

while True:
    humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
    if humidity is not None and temperature is not None:
        print("Temp={0:0.1f}C  Humidity={1:0.1f}%".format(temperature, humidity))
    else:
        print("Sensor failure. Check wiring.");
    time.sleep(3);

Python Code for DHT11/22 Complete

And here is the completed python code for the DHT11/22 sensors.


import Adafruit_DHT
import time

DHT_SENSOR = Adafruit_DHT.DHT11
DHT_PIN = 4

while True:
    humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
    if humidity is not None and temperature is not None:
        print("Temp={0:0.1f}C Humidity={1:0.1f}%".format(temperature, humidity))
    else:
        print("Sensor failure. Check wiring.");
    time.sleep(3);

To run your code, enter python3 mydht11.py and press enter. If you did everything correctly, you’ll start seeing the temperature and humidity reported on the terminal window every 3 seconds.

The Completed DHT11/DHT22 Project

There are so many possible uses for these sensors. You can use them to capture the temperature of your Pi when its in an enclosure in the hot summer heat, or you can use it to check on the temperature of room in your house when you’re out of town. It’s also very commonly used in creating weather stations.

If you have any problems, leave a comment below and we’ll do our best to help you out!

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35 Responses

Mike Murray says:

May 18, 2019 at 8:08 pm

4.5

Reply
Craig Knoll says:

June 5, 2019 at 8:44 am

by far the best tutorial on this topic. thanks!

Reply
James Braugher says:

June 18, 2019 at 8:01 pm

Hey it works! I am going to monitor the temperature of my dog’s house on the farm to make sure he never gets too cold or hot (so I know I need to provide extra heat or cooling). We live on a farm.

Reply
Sean Cusack says:

June 27, 2019 at 8:05 pm

Any luck doing this from a raspberry pie zero?

Reply
1. Mike Murray says:
  
  June 28, 2019 at 8:09 am
  
  Should work exactly the same. Are you having a problem?
  
  Reply
JFox says:

July 1, 2019 at 11:21 am

This is literally the only tutorial on the internet that actually works. I never leave comments. So thanks for this.

Reply
Anonymous says:

July 8, 2019 at 11:55 pm

4

Reply
Courtney Sampson says:

August 1, 2019 at 6:55 pm

Thanks! Is there anything different in the code for the 3 pin version of the DHT22?

Reply
1. Mike Murray says:
  
  August 2, 2019 at 9:27 am
  
  Nope. works exactly the same.
  
  Reply
Tono says:

November 13, 2019 at 10:34 pm

Hello, can we send the temperature and humidity data to internet or our site to monitoring it? Thankk you

Reply
Anonymous says:

November 21, 2019 at 6:29 am

4.5

Reply
Marius Nagel says:

December 25, 2019 at 2:23 pm

i start the script mydht11.py, it displays the temperature and humidity once, but then it starts showing a sensor failure every time…any ideas?

Reply
Scott Daniel Mazerolle says:

February 26, 2020 at 12:15 am

I followed this guide to the best that I could. I was a little confused as to where to put the script but I ran the command “nano mydht11.py” and pasted the code in and saved it. Now when I run the script I get a sensor failure. Not sure what to do.

Reply
Dave says:

March 13, 2020 at 11:32 am

This is what I’m running to :
Could not find a version that satisfies the requirement Adafruit_DHT (from versions: )
No matching distribution found for Adafruit_DHT

What the heck??? anybody.

Reply
1. Dave says:
  
  March 13, 2020 at 11:54 am
  
  resolved this got new problem
  dsettles@RPI3B:~ $ python3 mydht22.py
  Traceback (most recent call last):
  File “mydht22.py”, line 9, in
  humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
  File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 81, in read
  return platform.read(sensor, pin)
  File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/Raspberry_Pi_2.py”, line 34, in read
  raise RuntimeError(‘Error accessing GPIO.’)
  RuntimeError: Error accessing GPIO.
  
  Reply
Alex says:

April 10, 2020 at 8:03 pm

Thanks for this great tutorial. It was my first Pi Project and with other tutorials it did not work. In between correct meassurements I do also get sensor failure do you have an idea about this?

Reply
Drew Jordan says:

April 25, 2020 at 12:35 pm

I did exactly as followed and keep getting sensor failure check wiring

Reply
Christopher Aruofor says:

May 19, 2020 at 11:45 am

Hi all,

New to using sensors on the Pi, I am currently waiting waiting for my breadboard to arrive, in the mean time could I connect my DHT sensor to the Pi just using jumper cables ?

Reply
Lon says:

May 22, 2020 at 2:32 pm

Everything that I have checked on the interwebs says yes. If you have the 3 pin dht series.

Reply
Lon Powley says:

May 22, 2020 at 3:25 pm

The top picture is correct, but looking at the diagram of Pi and BB the (3 pin) positive and data wires are switched. Mayhaps that’s why so many are having troubles with the program?
I’m getting ready to set this up for my green house to monitor heat and humidity.
I’ll come back as soon as it’s done.
Great tutorial,

Lon

Reply
Lon says:

May 22, 2020 at 7:03 pm

So, my setup went the same as others with the check the cable error, but it would show temp and hum several times, and back to check cable.
I commented out (#) else and print lines, and it works flawlessly.

Reply
Mario Colina T. says:

June 3, 2020 at 8:21 am

Thanks for your tutorial,
I’m trying to add actual time to code, but I get actual time just once, then is always the same time with correct temp./hum.:

### CODE

from datetime import datetime #import datetime module
import Adafruit_DHT
import time

DHT_SENSOR = Adafruit_DHT.DHT11
DHT_PIN = 4

# datetime object containing current date and time
now = datetime.now()

while True:
humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
if humidity is not None and temperature is not None:
print(now.strftime(“%H:%M:%S”), “Temp={0:0.1f}C Humidity={1:0.1f}%”.format( temperature, humidity))
else:
print(“Sensor failure. Check wiring.”);
time.sleep(60);

###

### SHELL

Shell:
16:10:34 Temp=25.0C Humidity=62.0%
16:10:34 Temp=24.0C Humidity=62.0%
16:10:34 Temp=24.0C Humidity=62.0%

###

Thanks

Cheers

Mario

Reply
Verne jan says:

July 11, 2020 at 7:41 pm

How to get this code to load into a web server so instead of ssh into pi, just load Ip address of web server?

Reply
leezray says:

August 15, 2020 at 10:13 am

Hi, i followed exactly but i got this error. any idea how to solve?
Traceback (most recent call last):
File “test.py”, line 8, in
humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 80, in read
platform = get_platform()
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 60, in get_platform
from . import Beaglebone_Black
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/Beaglebone_Black.py”, line 24, in
from . import Beaglebone_Black_Driver as driver
ImportError: cannot import name ‘Beaglebone_Black_Driver’ from ‘Adafruit_DHT’ (/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/__init__.py

Reply
1. Bob says:
  
  September 3, 2020 at 2:07 pm
  
  Same here. Can anyone help????
  
  Reply
Bob says:

September 3, 2020 at 2:06 pm

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “mydht11.py”, line 8, in
humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 80, in read
platform = get_platform()
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 60, in get_platform
from . import Beaglebone_Black
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/Beaglebone_Black.py”, line 24, in
from . import Beaglebone_Black_Driver as driver
ImportError: cannot import name ‘Beaglebone_Black_Driver’ from ‘Adafruit_DHT’ (/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/__init__.py)

Reply
Bob says:

September 5, 2020 at 1:34 pm

I keep getting this error and am pulling my hair out!!!!! Please help!!!

Traceback (most recent call last):
File “/home/pi/humidity.py”, line 7, in
humidity, temperature = Adafruit_DHT.read_retry(DHT_SENSOR, DHT_PIN)
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 94, in read_retry
humidity, temperature = read(sensor, pin, platform)
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 80, in read
platform = get_platform()
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/common.py”, line 60, in get_platform
from . import Beaglebone_Black
File “/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/Beaglebone_Black.py”, line 24, in
from . import Beaglebone_Black_Driver as driver
ImportError: cannot import name ‘Beaglebone_Black_Driver’ from ‘Adafruit_DHT’ (/usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT/__init__.py)

Reply
Bob says:

September 5, 2020 at 1:36 pm

Having same problem. Nobody seems to be replying here!!!!

Reply
Kurt Mühlemann says:

September 6, 2020 at 9:38 am

Hi Mike

I receive the same message as leezray above. I believe that this is due to both of us using Raspberrypi 4. Program common.py searches for the version of the Raspberry and Raspberry 4 is not an option. Any idea how we can resolve this?

Kind regards

Kurt

Reply
Antonio says:

October 15, 2020 at 12:23 am

Hi Leezray / Bob, I was having the very same problem when using the module DHT22/AM2302 on Raspi 4. Then, I ordered and replaced the module by the unit DHT22 (sensor only), and all came out good. There are 2 possibilities: my previous module was faulty – or the code wont work in Raspi 4. Cheers, A

Reply
nrk2of3 says:

November 11, 2020 at 10:43 pm

Ok this is the quick and dirty as to why. its a raspberry pi 4. in the common.py code it preforms a board check it comes back as 2 this is a beagelbone answer. the pi 4 gives the wrong answer.

so how to fix it. I just grabbed it by the throat and punched it in the face. I’m sure you can do better if you give a crap.

cd /usr/local/lib/python3.7/dist-packages/Adafruit_DHT
cp common.py common.py.bup
chmod 777 common.py

edit common.py
def get_platform():
from . import Raspberry_Pi_2
return Raspberry_Pi_2

*** Now get_platform() only returns that it is a raspberry pi 2. I only want it to work with a raspberry pi so this works. The code will now run. Fixed for sufficiently small values of fixed.

hope this helps.

Reply
Anonymous says:

January 30, 2021 at 7:36 am

0.5

Reply
Jeremy D Poling says:

May 2, 2021 at 8:16 am

Code works on my Pi3 B+ however, I don’t get live info. Instead it pulls info once and then stays static even after changes in temp and humidity. How do I get the values to change as the loop continues?

Reply
afiq says:

May 25, 2021 at 11:56 am

i also get the same problem. tjhat anyone know how to solve it?

Reply
AnimeBAssoon says:

June 12, 2021 at 11:49 am

hello i use raspberry pi and i did all this work that mike said but still i cant fix the problem? is it compatable with raspberry pi 4 b

Reply